


The Assassination Game

by LaskaSprite



Category: Assassination Classroom
Genre: Battle, Fake Blood, Gen, Inspired by The Hunger Games
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-12-23
Updated: 2019-12-23
Packaged: 2021-02-18 02:34:29
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 1
Words: 11,529
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21920398
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/LaskaSprite/pseuds/LaskaSprite
Summary: Class - E is surprised when Karasuma announces that their PE lesson will be a little different than usual... a Hunger Games style class battle using fake weapons in a real situation. Each student has their own ideas on how to win, but only one can rise to the top.How will the students react when they are pushed to their mental and emotional limits?Note: The teen rating and 'graphic descriptions of violence' may be overkill. No one is actually injured during the game.
Comments: 8
Kudos: 60





	The Assassination Game

**Author's Note:**

> The teen rating is for the violence of the fight and the occasional uses of 'Damn' and 'Hell', so if you think anything needs to change, let me know.

“What?”

“Did I hear that right?”

“What the hell?”

The students of class E were shocked. Well, maybe confused was better suited for the situation. Sure, this was a PE lesson. They were used to the occasional surprise challenge, but this was no physical assessment.

“We’re going to test your skills today.” Mr. Karasuma had said. “A battle to the death.”  
They stood in silence, waiting for the emotionless man to explain himself. There was no way he could’ve really meant...

“Don’t worry. I’m not asking you to actually kill each other. I’m not the best at explaining, but this is essentially the Hunger Games.” A few whispers were heard among the students familiar with the series. “The rules are simple. All you have to do is survive. You’ll be wearing special double-layered suits. They’re meant to be worn under a regular set of clothing. The outer layer is designed to hold red paint. It’s to make the killing environment more real, or so I’m told.” He glanced over at Korosensei, making it clear whose idea the pseudo-blood was. “The inner layer will administer an electric shock in line with any injuries you receive. When you do, you’ll notice green lights around the area of contact. They can be used to gauge blood loss and will turn off as you ‘die’. The suits react to specially altered versions of the knives used to kill the Octopus. A few notes, teaming up is allowed, but be warned, these are self-imposed. A teammate can go back on an alliance whenever they desire. You may not leave the premises until the game is over.” He seemed to be wrapping up, but just as he did, Jelavic came over.

“Please, if you’re going to do this, make sure your acting is on point. I want dramatic deaths. As long as your lights are still on, you’re still alive, and I’m going to grade you on your acting skills. Keep in mind that if you get brutally stabbed, you’ll be helped by the electric shock that will make you feel like you’re actually dying, so put yourself out there!” She practically shouted the words; clearly, she was a woman with passion.

Everyone put on their special suits and equipped themselves with a knife and gun each. The suits were more or less full body, with strips of material covering points of interest, such as the temples. Since no lives were really on the line, there was only one thought between them: That this would be an interesting new learning experience. They were brought into the ‘arena’ for their match. It was the same place they’d had their class civil war. Mr. Karasuma brought everyone in one at a time, prohibiting any scouting or moving from their start zones. He was trying to make it as fair as possible. Soon, the twenty-seven students – Ritsu couldn’t really join in – were in position, scattered around their designated fight zone. Korosensei began the countdown from up on a cliff above the area. All three teachers were present.

One minute.

The students were all trying to formulate a strategy. Any strategy. Some undoubtedly had different ideas than others, but they all shared one thing in common. They wanted to win.

Thirty seconds.

Some began to panic. Others stayed calm and focused on the task at hand. Survive. Harder than it looked; there could only be one winner here.

Ten seconds.

Nagisa could feel his heart beating in his throat. He felt anxious, his whole body twitching. He tried to control it. To calm down. If he did, then maybe, just maybe, he could do this.

Five seconds.

Karma shut his eyes. If he could stick to a plan, or just finish thinking for that matter, he could do this.

Three seconds.

Kataoka tightened her grip on her gun. She could do this.

One second.

Isogai knew what he had to do. Find Maehara. Team up with him. Assuming it worked, they could do this.

Go. 

The students took different approaches to the situation. A couple just stood where they were, too scared or unsure to make a move. Most of them began moving slowly, constantly checking behind them. A few, however, knew exactly what they needed to do. Karma climbed the nearest rock he could find. It was open, but it would make a good vantage point. He assumed that Hayami and Chiba would team up and set up base camp in a tree somewhere, but that would take time. Of course, the students on the ground would be a threat almost immediately. He wasn’t sure who to watch out for, but if his plan went accordingly, he wouldn’t need to add Nagisa to the list.

\-----

Kataoka scouted her surrounding area, using the natural environment as cover whenever it was possible. She wanted to start early. Eliminate whoever she could while they were still preparing. With a gun in her hand and a knife strapped to her leg, she waited. Suddenly, she saw movement to her right. While she couldn’t make out the figure at first, she soon recognized all too well the short hair and annoying laugh. Okajima. ‘This shouldn’t be hard’. She thought. Okajima was pretty useless in a fight, after all. She aimed her gun, and when she had an opening, she shot.

Her bullet hit him in the back of the head. Bright red paint hit the ground behind him and spattered on the nearby trees.

“AAH” He shouted as the electric shock hit his head and neck. The lights flashed, then dimmed almost immediately. He fell to the floor, screaming “I’m hit! I never got to see everything on my bucket list! Just think of everything I’ve missed out on!” somehow, Kataoka didn’t think he was talking about sightseeing.

“You’re already dead. Stop shouting.” She called, making herself known.

As she walked away, she heard a cannon. Of course. In the Hunger Games, which was where the inspiration for their own game originated, they had a cannon go off whenever someone died. No hiding the death count. She figured it would be a good idea to keep track of it.

“Okajima has been eliminated.” Came the toneless voice of Mr. Karasuma over some sort of speaker system. ‘Excellent. Who’s next?’ Kataoka thought. But this was too easy. Something was bound to happen soon. She’d run into Karma, or the snipers, or perhaps Isogai. So instead of cherishing her victory, she put her mind to figuring out who would be teaming up, and what their strategies might be. 

\-----

Chiba had been working his way towards the middle of the area. He knew Hayami was doing the same. Hopefully neither of them was eliminated before they could find a vantage point. When he heard the cannon go off, part of his mind had wondered if it had been Hayami’s. luckily, it was just Okajima. He deserved that. He thought. After all, this was the guy who had often chased Hayami around the school, shouting things to and about her that could only be described as unforgivable.

Chiba’s train of thought came to an abrupt halt. He saw a brief flash of color between the trees. Gripping his gun, he edged forward. Depending on who he had seen…

“Chiba.” Hayami appeared in his field of vision, which was slightly smaller than the average person’s due to his hair. He was relieved to see that she was alright.

There was no need for either of them to ask the other to team up. They got to work finding the best vantage point they could, and they soon settled on a sturdy tree. It wasn’t ideal, but was anything, really? The two snipers helped each other up and got into position, with Hayami scouting to the right and Chiba to the left. Soon, they had a target. The first sign of movement came from Hayami’s side, but the next time they caught a glimpse, they had moved left. Without even knowing who it was, Chiba fired. His aim was true, and they saw red paint splatter against a nearby rock. They only identified their victim after the cannon.

“Muramatsu has been eliminated.” Came Mr. Karasuma’s voice.

“So that’s who it was. Nice shot, Chiba.” Hayami said, standing up to look at the ‘body’ of Muramatsu. His lights were already off. Neither of them was fond of lingering, physically or mentally, and they shifted their attention to their surroundings.

“If all goes well, we shouldn’t have to move much, but stay alert.” Chiba said. Hayami nodded.

“In an ideal situation, all our opponents would have knives, but even the ones who can’t aim straight to save their lives will carry guns. Be on the lookout.” It was a long piece of speech for her, but the two were used to talking to each other. Chiba didn’t say anything in response. The snipers just took aim and returned to the task at hand: survive.

\-----

Isogai ran through the forest. For once, he was happy to be thinner than most of the class. It made advancing easier. That combined with his agility and reflexes meant he could navigate the bounds of the game without being detected, but he still had to be careful. If he couldn’t find Maehara soon, someone else would. Two cannons had sounded so far. Two classmates eliminated. Each time, he had held his breath, terrified that Mr. Karasuma would announce Maehara’s elimination. He knew how small the chances were, with so many contestants, and he knew Maehara could handle himself well, but still. It was possible.

He vaulted over a fallen tree. At this speed, he would reach the other side of the boundary within minutes. He’d been positioned near the side of the area, yet he was still moving. He hadn’t realized just how big it was while fighting in the Civil War. Somewhere, Maehara was concealed in the greenery, maybe trying to find Isogai.

‘He’s got to be in this area.’ Isogai thought. It was a complete guess, but he felt good about it. He debated whether he should call out, but decided not to risk it. That could give away both of their positions. 

He noticed slight movement out of the corner of his eye. Someone was there. He didn’t know who it was, and he didn’t want to find out. Hiding behind a rock, he waited for the slight rustling noises to quiet down. He wasn’t going to risk being spotted, and he must have waited an extra thirty seconds after the noise was gone before he moved. He exhaled heavily; he hadn’t realized he’d been holding his breath. When he was sure whoever he had heard was gone, he came out of hiding and continued searching for Maehara.

As he crossed over a small stream running through the area, he heard a familiar bang and his heart skipped a beat. The cannon had been set off. Someone else was dead.

‘Please don’t say Maehara was eliminated. Please don’t say Maehara. Please don’t say Maehara!’ Isogai thought to himself. He knew that until he found him, every cannon would rack his nerves.

“Kayano has been eliminated.”

Isogai sighed in relief. Sure, it was terrible that Kayano was eliminated, but at least it wasn’t Maehara. He continued his search after regaining his composure from the cannon.

\-----

Terasaka had absolutely no idea what to do. Survive, sure, but he didn’t really know what that actually required. He needed a strategy quickly. Of course, he didn’t have one. He decided that staying on the move would be less likely to result in his elimination than if he stood still, so he had been half-mindlessly wandering around the battle zone, hoping to run into Yoshida and Itona, and hoping he didn’t run into Karma.

He did eventually find another student, but it wasn’t anyone he was expecting, and no one he needed to fear. As he turned a corner, Takabayashi stumbled into his field of vision. They both stood still for what seemed like hours but what was actually about ten seconds, unsure of whether to attack or run. It was Takabayashi that spoke first.

“I’m surprised you made it this far.”

“you trying to start something?” Terasaka asked, knowing that Takabayashi had insulted him, but without knowing why.

“My apologies. I was simply setting up a proposition. You see, I am clever, but admittedly I cannot fight for the life of me. You, on the other hand, are excellent in combat, but you tend to lean towards the moron side of the spectrum.” He pushed his glasses up. Terasaka stood confused for a second.

“Was that supposed to be a compliment or an insult?”

“It is neither. And both. You see, if we were to join forces, we would be unstoppable. I think it’s safe to say that neither of us will last two more minutes on our own.”

“So, you’re saying you want to team up?” Terasaka asked, finally figuring out what he meant.

“Precisely.”

“Alright. I’m in.” he said with a shrug. What was the worst that could happen? It was one less person to worry about.

The two of them began walking. Neither of them spoke. Terasaka let Takabayashi take the lead, since he seemed to be quite sure of himself. Before long, they were out of the forest, standing on sand at the base of a cliff.

“See if you can find a way up.” Takabayashi said, turning around to scout out their surroundings. Terasaka nodded and began to look. While his back was turned however, he felt an enormous electric shock on his upper back, and he shouted out in pain before dropping to the floor. When he looked back, Takabayashi was standing over him, holding a knife that was now covered in red paint.

“Sorry. It’s nothing personal.” He said, strapping the weapon back to his belt and crossing his arms. “Everyone’s just trying to win. I am no exception.”

“Why, you… Damnit!” Terasaka shouted as his lights dimmed completely. He knew the rules. He was dead, and he wasn’t allowed to do anything else until the game was over.

“Interesting last words.” Takabayashi said as he pushed his glasses up, suddenly sounding like a supervillain as the cannon sounded. “Especially for someone who-” he was cut off quite suddenly by a red sphere that rammed into his head. His lights were off before they were on. Terasaka stared uncomprehendingly. Then another cannon fired.

“Oh dear. It seems my plan has been foiled by an… unexpected variable.” Takabayashi said, somehow continuing his movie-style façade. the cannonball. Terasaka now realized that he had been hit by the cannonball.

\-----

Maehara hid in a hollow tree. He had narrowly avoided becoming Itona’s first victim, and he didn’t feel like taking another chance. He had to find Isogai. No doubt, the class rep would be looking for him, too. He had heard five cannons so far. Okajima, Muramatsu, and Kayano. Two more, which had practically happened on top of each other, had yet to be announced. He hoped that neither were Isogai.

“Terasaka and Takabayashi have been eliminated.” Came the voice of Mr. Karasuma. Maehara couldn’t safely express his relief without alerting everyone in a one-hundred-foot radius. He had to stay focused until he could find Isogai. He couldn’t believe how single-minded he was. Usually, he moved on quickly and couldn’t focus on one plan for long enough to see it through. Maybe he was reassured by the fact that once he found him, Isogai would know what to do.

Maehara hadn’t realized it, but he had been so distracted thinking about his friend that he hadn’t watched where he was going, and he nearly ran into a tree. After analyzing his surroundings, however, he found that the tree was the least of his worries. Up ahead, he could see Yada. She ran forward, knife in hand.

‘She’s going to kill me.’ He thought, grabbing his own knife. His plan, if you could call it that, was to strike before she could get close. His stab, however, came out as more of a block. She was quick. Too quick to attack head-on. He had to play this smart. If he could just get one good strike, he could do this. Knifework was his specialty.

As he dodged Yada’s knife, he began to plan his attack. Wait for an opening, and stab as quickly as possible. He knew he had to be careful; one wrong move and he was dead. Soon, he got the opportunity he needed. He had deflected the girl’s knife with his own, and she had been ever so slightly knocked off balance. He lined up his weapon with her body and reached out to strike, but he was dragged back suddenly by some unseen force. He felt the impact of his body being jerked backwards and slammed into a tree. His vision went blurry as his head knocked backwards. By the time he could see clearly again, another figure stood in front of him. Despite the fact he now had a considerable headache, he identified his second attacker as Fuwa. She must have been the one to throw him into the tree.

Not wanting to sit exposed, he jumped up and stood where he was. The problem now was that he had no idea what to do next. Anywhere he moved, he would be attacked by twice what he had been defending himself from earlier. He couldn’t stay still, or he’d be assaulted anyway. He was quite literally backed into a corner, and he couldn’t see any way out of it.

Yada took a step forward. She was like a predator. Instinctively, Maehara jumped away from her. A bad move. Fuwa lunged forward and raised her knife. Maehara shut his eyes and prepared for the shock. At least he had tried his best. Oh God, he had left Isogai to fight by himself. He heard the buzz of electricity, followed by a girl shouting. A few seconds passed before he realized that he felt no pain and no knife impact. A cannon went off, yet he hadn’t been hit.

“Fuwa has been eliminated.”

The cannon was… Fuwa’s?

“Hey, come on. You need to get up. We’re not out of danger yet.” Came a kind, slightly soft voice. Maehara opened his eyes and looked up to where he had heard the voice. Standing above him was the ikemen himself. Isogai.

“Nice timing, Prince Charming.” Maehara said, taking Isogai’s extended hand to stand up. But this was no time to greet friends. They’d be able to catch up later. He turned to Yada, who seemed much less confident now Fuwa was eliminated. They had been on a team, he noted. It would explain why she hadn’t attempted to attack while Isogai helped him up, and why it was easy for him to eliminate her. He thrust the fake knife into her side. The red paint spilling out of her suit made extremely effective blood, but it wasn’t as believable as her acting. She wasn’t dramatic, but she made little choking sounds that were hard to listen to. Maehara felt a little bad, but after her lights had dimmed, she smiled as if to say ‘good luck’ and to remind him that this was a game of survival, not a game of personal grudges. The cannon went off.

“Yada has been eliminated.”

After the announcement, he turned back towards Isogai.

“Hey, thanks for saving my life back there.”

“No problem.” Isogai said, smiling.

“So, uh… you have a plan, right?” Maehara asked, but he knew the answer before the question so much as left his mouth.

“Of course.” Isogai laughed slightly. “I wouldn’t be a very good class rep if I tried to team up with my best friend without a plan.”

\-----

Itona had done his best to avoid conflict up to this point, although he did jump at an opportunity to stab Maehara that had, unfortunately for Itona, ended with his target’s escape. His strategy was mainly to hide in trees. The idea was to let everyone else kill each other, then jump in at the last second. From his vantage point, he could see the snipers to his left, and Hazama to his right. Neither party was aware of him, at least for the time being. 

He watched as Hazama crossed over to his left, where the snipers were waiting. At the last second, she turned. Itona tried to hide behind the tree trunk, but she had already seen him. He pulled out his gun and held it up. He wasn’t sure why he had. It was a well-known fact that he couldn’t shoot straight if someone offered him all the world’s Swedish Fish for it. Still, he fired. As expected, he missed his target by about two yards. Hazama smiled. ‘Damnit’. Itona thought. Now she knew she wasn’t in any danger.

Hazama held up her own gun and aimed directly at Itona. He didn’t move or resist. He knew there was nothing else he could do, just sit back and enjoy his elimination. Right before she pulled the trigger, however, she dropped to the ground. Itona resisted the urge to jump back in surprise; an understandable measure to take, considering he was up a tree. Only upon second inspection did Itona notice the red liquid pouring out of the side of her head. She had been shot. But by who? Then it dawned on him. The snipers. Chiba was facing away, so it must have been Hayami that hit her.

From his distance, he couldn’t hear Hazama, but her ‘death’ was still pretty realistic. She dropped to her knees before she fell face-down. He couldn’t quite tell, but she appeared to be making some kind of strangled noise. The cannon went off a few seconds later.

“Hazama has been eliminated.”

Itona climbed down from his tree. From his location, he had a clear view of Hayami, which also meant she had a clear view of him. He started to move in the opposite direction, away from the snipers, but he was interrupted mid-step when he heard a noise behind him. He snapped around and reached for the first weapon he touched, which happened to once again be his gun. He found himself holding Mimura at gunpoint. He looked terrified. ‘Nothing new there.’ Itona thought. He saw that Mimura was clutching a knife. His plan had most likely been to catch Itona off guard and surprise him. Like that would work. He didn’t think twice about shooting him.

It was the first time Itona had seen an elimination up close. Mimura must have seen a lot of movies while pursuing his dream career as a director, because his dying skills were something to behold. Red liquid was gushing out of his suit. If Itona didn’t know better, he wouldn’t have guessed it was paint. Mimura dropped to the ground, with ‘blood’ dripping down his front and onto the dirt beneath him. After half a minute of dying noises, he stopped struggling and stared blankly up at the sky.

“A job well done” Itona said, walking away as the cannon went off.

“Mimura has been eliminated.”

Itona continued to travel in the same direction. Not long after he claimed his victim, he heard a faint gunshot, followed by another cannon.

“Yoshida has been eliminated.”

From the direction of the shot, he guessed it had been the work of the snipers. Based on the distance, probably Chiba. They were on a roll, and Itona couldn’t be happier to get away from them.

\-----

Hayami and Chiba hadn’t moved from their post since first setting up, and they’d barely spoken apart from where it was absolutely necessary. Chiba’s legs were starting to cramp from staying in the same position for so long. He shifted slightly so he didn’t cut off circulation. Hayami was focused only on the surrounding area. They had each eliminated someone in the past five minutes. There was bound to be another around the area. Hazama seemed like she had been after someone, but they had likely escaped by now. No use dwelling on the past.

Hayami saw movement from her side of the terrain. Definitely another student, and from the rustling of bushes, they were heading right for the two snipers. That meant someone was either confident or stupid, or perhaps simply oblivious. Whatever the reason, Hayami tightened her grip on the trigger.

It wasn’t until her target was practically underneath her that she identified them. It was Hara. She pulled out a gun and aimed it upwards, not at Hayami, but at Chiba. By this point, he too was well aware of Hara, but he was still sitting at an odd angle in order to increase blood flow to his legs, and couldn’t turn in time to shoot her. She corrected her aim and smiled intimidatingly at him, and then there was a bang. Chiba froze for a minute. He hadn’t shot, but neither had Hara. That only left one person. Sure enough, Hayami sat back straight and looked at Hara, which was her tell that she’d hit her target.

Hara dropped to the ground. She didn’t make any noise, nor did she resist. Her lights were dimmed. She was dead. As the cannon went off, Hayami reloaded and Chiba adjusted his position so he could move around more freely.

“Hara has been eliminated.”

“Thanks.” Chiba said after the announcement ended. He didn’t know what else to say, not that it made any difference to his regular speech patterns.

“No problem. Any sign of movement?”

“No.”

The silence that followed was slightly awkward, but it only lasted a brief moment before they turned their full attention to scouting. The lack of noise was interrupted suddenly by another cannon.

“Sugaya has been eliminated.” Mr. Karasuma was beginning to sound like a broken record.

“How many eliminations does that make?” Hayami asked, half to herself. She got a reply anyway.

“Twelve. There are thirteen others out there.” Chiba said without taking his eyes off the area. At least, that’s what Hayami assumed. No one ever really knew what he was looking at.

\-----

Isogai stood in front of a dead Sugaya, knife in hand. Behind him, Maehara was ready to jump to his friend’s aid, but for now there was no need. Sugaya had come out of nowhere. He had most likely used the environment as camouflage to sneak up on them. Isogai managed to whip around and stab him before he could do so to him, but as he was dying, he had screamed unusually loud.

“How hard did you hit him?” Maehara asked, crossing his arms.

“I didn’t put much force in. I didn’t have the time.” Isogai responded, looking around.

“You don’t think he was trying to give away our position, do you?”

“That does seem to be the most likely case. Until we know one way or another, be on high alert.” As he said it, Isogai looked around as if he expected they were being watched right that second. Almost half the class had been eliminated already. Of course, the ones to really watch out for were all still in the game. As the pair started to move, they tried to formulate a plan. Isogai knew that Karma, Kataoka and the snipers were among the deadliest. He was fairly sure Hayami and Chiba would be exclusively using long range weapons, but the others were harder to predict. Kataoka was certainly more of a threat with a knife under usual circumstances, but she had been known to use a gun when necessary. Karma was almost completely unpredictable. His skill in both weapon types was extraordinary, and he used that to his advantage.

Both boys’ planning was halted abruptly when they heard noise from behind them. Isogai spun around, his knife out and his back to Maehara.

“Who was that?” He asked. Maehara couldn’t provide an answer. “It sounds like someone agile, from their speed.”

“Then it’s a good thing we can do that too.” Maehara said, preparing himself for an assault.

Their attacker jumped from behind a tree and knocked Isogai to the ground before he had a chance to block. It was Okano. No wonder she’d been able to land a hit.

Isogai quickly confirmed to himself that he hadn’t been stabbed or shot. Okano had jabbed him in the side with her elbow, which he figured was a smart move. Her plan was to break them up as a single unit and fight them separately. Isogai tried to stand up, but his side hurt like hell and he didn’t want to let her land another attack.

Maehara still couldn’t see whether his friend had been stabbed. “Isogai!” He shouted, probably louder than he should have. He readied his knife.

“It’s alright. It was just her elbow…” Isogai said. His voice was full of pain, and Maehara hated it. Unfortunately, his panic had created an opening for Okano. She was already facing the boy on the floor, so all she had to do was reach forward and stab him. As quick as anything, she grabbed him by the arm and almost tore it out of his socket as she brought him to her knife. She held it to his chest and smiled at Maehara. He got the feeling she was purposefully making him watch.

Isogai looked terrified. Not just for his own life, but for Maehara as well. He couldn’t stand it. For a second, he forgot that this was a game. Just then, his best friend was about to die. Almost without thinking, he tightened his grip on his knife and began to stab. 

“Okano has been eliminated.”

It wasn’t until the cannon, the announcement, the third hit that he remembered that it wasn’t real, that his knife was made of rubber. By then, Okano’s lights were dimmed. He stayed there on his knees for a while, trying to unscramble his brain. What had he just done? Now released from Okano’s hold, Isogai crouched next to him.

“Maehara… how did you…” He started. The whole thing had been a blur for him as well.

Maehara was still sorting through his thoughts, and hadn’t been able to properly process what Isogai had just said. For all he knew, he was stunned at the brutality of his actions.

“I’m sorry, I… I thought you were going to die.” He was surprised at how emotional he felt. He was holding back tears. At a game. “For a second I actually thought she was going to kill you. Please don’t think I’m some sort of bloodthirsty killing monster.”

Isogai smiled slightly. “I don’t. you were just trying to protect me. Honestly, I would have done the same for you. When you have someone to protect, it’s easy to forget when it’s real and when it’s just a game. Sometimes, you don’t know the difference in the first place. Come on. We need to keep moving.” There was always something reassuring and calming in his voice, and certainly no disappointment. He stood up, and Maehara followed suit.

“Thanks, Yūma.” He said as they set off together.

\-----

Kataoka kept up her pace. So far, she’d only eliminated two people. Naturally, that would change as their numbers thinned out. What did she expect? She’d been avoiding others when possible, waiting for the perfect time to strike.

Her classmates were dropping like flies. Thirteen down, thirteen to go. It wasn’t the nicest way of putting it, but this was no different emotionally than a real assassination. Personal feelings couldn’t get in her way. Her plan had worked alright so far, but ideally, some of the most dangerous students would have taken each other out. 

She heard a cannon fire. As horrible it sounded, she hoped it was Isogai or Maehara. She hadn’t yet seen them, and that was exactly the problem she faced. The eliminated students so far had been varied, but most of them favored knifework, so the snipers were her first thought. It was Okano that had made her realize the potential for another party. With her gymnastics skills, it would be almost impossible to hit her long range, and she wouldn’t likely have wandered into the snipers’ territory. That only left a knife fight. Once again, her agility would make her a hard target, but Isogai was the best in the class when it came to knifework. If it wasn’t him or Maehara, who else could it be?

“Okuda has been eliminated.”

Kataoka snapped her mind back to the game. She hadn’t even heard the cannon. Another classmate dead. One step closer to winning. She just had to find the rest of them.

She soon got her chance. Up ahead, she could see Kimura. She quickly hid behind a tree as quietly as she could. He whipped around. he had heard her, but he didn’t know where she was.

His confusion had bought her some time. They both favored knives in combat, but Kimura was more agile, so that ruled out a close-range fight. Luckily for Kataoka, he wasn’t as good as she was long ranged. She grabbed her gun off of her belt and stepped out from behind the tree.

When Kimura saw her, he went straight for his knife. Kataoka knew she had to get this right. If she stepped in close, she was dead. If she missed her shot at the wrong time, Kimura would have an opening. It was a hard balance to strike.

Kimura didn’t charge straight in to the fight. Instead, he focused on making himself unpredictable, mainly using sideways movement. He knew he couldn’t risk an attack, that he had to buy his time. Kataoka wasn’t planning on giving it to him. She waited for a break between movements to fire. She missed by about an inch. He must have known what her approach would be to dodge.

She didn’t let the miss get to her too much. Instead, she waited for her next opening. Kimura must have seen an opportunity himself, as he began to dash forwards.

“Damnit.” Kataoka muttered under her breath. Kimura was lethal up close. Her best bet was to stay out of his way until she had another clear shot. He swung his knife at her, but she managed to gain enough momentum to dodge and jump backwards. She had a stable position to shoot from now. She fired as soon as her hands were steady. Kimura shouted out in pain and dropped to the ground. Her bullet had hit him in the back. Not a lethal shot on its own, but the paint pouring out of his suit was substantial. Kataoka shot again. There was another shout, and then nothing. The lights on his suit were dimmed. A cannon echoed through the area.

“Kimura has been eliminated.”

She had taken the second shot for a reason. Knowing Kimura, he would have waited until Kataoka’s back was turned, then shot her back. Even if he bled to death, justice would have been served. That was his name, after all. With one glance back at her victim, she turned and continued on her way.

\-----

Itona had lost all faith in trees. They’d brought him nothing but trouble. First Hazama, then the snipers, Kimura and even Sugino and Kanzaki, who had teamed up some time before they found him. He instead focused on the ground. He’d only eliminated one person out of fifteen or so. This was not proof of his ability. He had to do better. For a second, he remembered how things used to be, how obsessed he had been with strength. He was different now. He still aspired to be strong, but he had changed. If the only way to prove himself was to take someone out, so be it. but he wasn’t about to lose his mind over it.

He spent a while trying to decide who to target. Out of the group left, there were a few he didn’t expect. Kurahashi and Kanzaki had lasted so much longer than he thought they would. Sugino, too. He decided that the next person he found would be his victim, but he would have to do without the benefit of high ground. He had given up on trees completely.

It wasn’t long before his wish was granted. Oddly, he saw them before he heard them. Isogai and Maehara were, as far as he could tell, trying to formulate a strategy for the next portion of the game. If all went well, it would be their last portion. Itona’s plan had been to take out one person, but two would be even better. They were worthy opponents.

He would have to use a knife. Isogai and Maehara would be near impossible to hit from a distance for a competent sniper, let alone Itona. The two were highly skilled close ranged combatants, so it was far from ideal. Even if Itona did stand a small chance of hitting them from afar, Isogai in particular was an excellent shot. Why did he have to be such an… Ikemen? He had to go for it, or he’d lose his element of surprise.

As soon as he stepped out of hiding, the two boys knew he was there. Both spun around, knives at the ready.

“It’s Itona.” Maehara said. Expressionless, Itona replied.

“Yup. That’s my name.” There was minimal enthusiasm in his tone. While Maehara was distracted by the statement, he ran forward. If it had been a one-on-one fight, Itona would have won there and then. But it wasn’t, and in a rush of movement, Isogai shoved him out of the way before he could land a hit. Itona managed to keep his balance, and he jumped to the side before attempting to land a hit on Isogai. The class rep deflected the blade with his own, and the shock almost disarmed them both. Isogai was only just able to keep hold of his blade. As he stood weaponless, Itona realized he had done this before. A lot.

“Maehara! Now!” Isogai shouted. Before Itona knew what was happening, he felt a large jolt of electricity course through his body. He shouted and sunk to the ground, partly due to the surprise alone. He wanted to jump up, to get his revenge, but before he could, the cannon fired. Mr. Karasuma’s voice came at him like a second stab.

“Itona has been eliminated.”

“I’m stronger than this!” He said through gritted teeth. He was eliminated, and there was nothing he could do about it.

“Hey, I’m sorry.” Maehara said, crouching next to Itona. “We all want to be stronger. We all want to win. I had to take you out as much as you had to take me out, if that makes sense. But I’m also part of a team, and I can’t let that team down” He gestured at Isogai, who was already back on high alert.

Itona said nothing. Technically, he wasn’t allowed to anyway. He tended to go quiet when he had something to think about, and Maehara had given him plenty.

\-----

“Hey, Nagisa. Give me your gun.” Karma said, looking at his small friend. So far, their adventure had been pretty boring. Karma had found Nagisa soon after Kayano’s elimination. Since then, they’d been avoiding attention, and Karma wanted to change that.

“Why do you need my gun? Do you – hey, be careful! The snipers are over there!” Nagisa handed over the gun before Karma started in the direction of Hayami and Chiba’s tree. Against his better judgement, the smaller boy chased after the larger.

“Watch this. Nagisa, I need you to run over there,” He gestured to the space right in front of Hayami’s watch area. “and make some noise.”

“What?” Nagisa had a feeling of dread. Why was he always the bait?

“Whatever you do, don’t get shot.” Karma dashed off to the side. Nagisa sighed. He couldn’t believe he had to go along with this crazy plan. He didn’t even know what the plan was!

Karma didn’t have much difficulty getting to the snipers. Their position, he noticed, had a blind spot to Hayami’s left and/or Chiba’s right. He exploited this and crept up to the trunk unnoticed. Now came the hard part. He would have to get up the tree. Just as he started on a plan that involved a knife, two guns and a lot of fire, he heard rustling noises from the other side of the area. The snipers both turned their attention to where Nagisa was doing a pretty good job of distracting them.

“That could work too.” Karma whispered to no one in particular. He somehow managed to climb up the back of the tree without notice from Hayami and Chiba. His plan was to shoot them both in the back, but he quickly realized he had an opportunity. It was the kind he would never pass up: a chance to embarrass a fellow student.

Karma repositioned himself. He would have to act quickly. There was no way he’d be able to sit on the branch above Chiba’s without him noticing, so he’d have to set up from behind. Making sure his guns were ready to fire, he jumped up to the branch and swung down, his legs keeping him propped up. There was about a foot or so between his face and Chiba’s, the latter of whom looked as shocked as someone could without their eyes being visible. Karma smiled one of his special grins, the kind only he could do, as he began to chant. For whatever reason, he used the southern accent he had picked up from Kevin the exchange student back during the Kunugigaoka sports day.

“Hayami and Chiba sittin’ in a tree, K-I-S-S-I-N-G!”

On the ‘G’, he fired both guns, which had each been aimed at one of the snipers. Both marks hit. Hayami fell out of her branch with a shout. The bullet had hit her at an odd angle that probably would have punctured one or both lungs if it had been real. Her lungs then faced real danger as Chiba fell squarely on top of her and almost crushed her ribcage altogether. Their lights were dimming fast. While he still had time, Chiba tried to get off of Hayami, but the green light was out before he could do so much as roll to the side.

“Chiba… You’re…crushing me. Why are you… So damn heavy?” Hayami said just before her lights went out too. Karma laughed to himself.

“I’d help you out, but that was just so fun!” He said to them. Two cannons were heard almost simultaneously.

“Chiba and Hayami have been eliminated.”

“Have fun!” He walked away from them, where Nagisa was waiting not far away.

“You’re just going to leave them there?” He asked.

“Of course! That was amazing!”

“We have very different definitions of the word amazing.”

The two of them found the edge of the forest not long later. They found themselves staring at a very large rock slab that could have easily been used for cover. It was, as Karma found out. From his position, he could just about see a figure. It was unmistakably Nakamura. Analyzing the terrain a little more, he saw that paths went around both sides of the large rock.

“Nagisa, I’ve got another idea.” He said.

“If it involves me as bait, count me out.” Nagisa said.

“It doesn’t. I say we both take a path and ambush Nakamura. She can’t get us both at once.”

“Fine. But if you back out at the last minute…” Nagisa said, trailing off. He decided there was no point in arguing.

They split up, with Karma taking the path to their left. He had given Nagisa very specific instructions on how long to wait. He counted the seconds in his head, grabbed his knife, and jumped out from behind the rock. Nakamura wasn’t surprised to see him, and she didn’t seem scared. After a quick pan of the area, Karma realized why.

“Where’s Nagisa?” He asked calmly. A cannon quickly answered his question.

“Nagisa has been eliminated.”

Nakamura dropped her knife, now covered in pseudo-blood, and raised her gun, pointing it directly at Karma’s head.

“Well, damn.” He said quietly. “At least I tried.”

\-----

“Karma has been eliminated.”

Kataoka had been hoping to eliminate him herself, but she couldn’t complain. he was out of the picture. She could breathe a little easier knowing that, at least.

She heard movement from behind her. She turned almost casually to see Kurahashi running at her. Kataoka quickly grabbed her gun and shot. If her target hadn’t turned at the last second, the bullet would have hit her in the face. Instead, it rammed into the side of her head, next to her ear. The cannon went off, as usual.

“Kurahashi has been eliminated.”

Kataoka took the opportunity to stop and think. Who was left? Nakamura, Sugino, Kanzaki, and of course Maehara and Isogai. Five left for her to kill. The game was heating up. Up until now, she was pretty sure some of those left had only got as far as they did by hiding. They couldn’t do that now. Not unless they wanted a bullet in their head like Kurahashi.

With that thought, she continued on her way. She hadn’t left the forest the whole time. Neither, she guessed, had most of the others. It was huge. While scouting, she noticed that there were a few ‘hotspots’, areas where people tended to group together. Why that happened, she couldn’t be sure. Her attention was quickly snapped away when a bullet sped past her, missing her right temple by an inch. It embedded itself in a tree nearby. She turned to see Kanzaki standing up on a rock a few yards away. How had she not seen her before? She unsheathed her knife and dodged another shot. Noise came from behind her, and she knew Kanzaki had a teammate. Who? It couldn’t have been Nakamura, and it wasn’t likely to be Isogai or Maehara. That left Sugino. Yeah, that made sense.

Getting to Kanzaki proved somewhat of a struggle. Dodging bullets was no easy task, and neither was dodging occasional knife jabs, which came from the baseball pro himself. Once she got close, however, it was over as quick as Korosensei in line for nachos. She drove the knife at Kanzaki’s chest. Red paint poured out of the gash she created in the suit, and the electric shock made her shriek. Or maybe that was her acting, it was hard to tell. Either way, she dropped to the floor. The cannon fired. Sugino shouted her name, which drew attention to himself. Kataoka could tell that he felt conflicted. Did he fight or run? Should he take the risk or buy his time? He decided on the latter. Kataoka let him escape. There would be plenty of time to stab him later, after all.

“Kanzaki has been eliminated.”

As the minutes passed, she almost came to regret letting Sugino run. A double elimination would have brought attention, and she could kill the remaining students as they came. She was so used to the fighting that the moment there was a break in the action, she felt bored. There was a forest clearing up ahead, and she decided it would make a great place to wait for a victim. As it turned out, she didn’t need to. Others had seemingly thought up the same idea. Standing in front of her was Maehara and Isogai.

\-----

Isogai stood next to his best friend, looking ahead. Kataoka was standing just outside the clearing. He knew their position wasn’t the best for hiding, but he hadn’t expected to be found so soon. There were only five students left in the game, but he had more important things to think about than probability. Kataoka didn’t look like she was there to team up.

Kataoka grabbed her knife. Isogai glanced at Maehara, who was returning the look. They both knew that Kataoka was good in combat. Really good. The best they could do was try. Isogai often found he didn’t really feel comfortable initiating combat, and he knew that Maehara felt the same way, so they tightened their grip on their knives and waited for Kataoka to make a move.

The first attack was at Isogai. It seemed to be a popular strategy. Maehara decided the idea was to ‘cut off the head’ or whatever. Isogai dodged the attack, but the angle he was positioned at made it difficult to stab back. As soon as he could, he swung at Kataoka, but she was already out of range. Maehara jumped in to help, but didn’t do much better. He almost fell over backwards with the momentum from her counter. His balance didn’t hold out much longer. She kicked him in the stomach and he fell onto his back.

“Watch out!” Isogai shouted as he ran over. Maehara just about managed to dodge the knife as Kataoka brought it down. He stood up and took a couple of steps back so that he was next to Isogai.

Kataoka didn’t waste any time attempting another assault. She sprang forwards and slashed at Maehara. He blocked the blade with his own and pushed it away from his body. Kataoka tried once more and almost knocked him down again. He just managed to bring up his knife with enough force to deflect, but the collision knocked it out of his hand and off somewhere outside the clearing. Maehara himself was almost launched right into the base of a tree.

While she saw the opportunity, Kataoka slashed at Isogai. He blocked the blows when he could, and for a while it worked. She saw this, and just after an attempted slash to the head, she kicked him down. Isogai figured she’d been practicing the move fairly regularly. He dropped his knife and fell to the floor, just as Maehara had. He reached for the blade, but Kataoka was already on top of him. He knew there was no escaping her now. He turned away and braced for impact.

“I’m sorry.” He whispered. He knew he couldn’t hear, but he had said it to Maehara. He was sorry for not being able to do more for him, for leaving him on his own.

When he heard the buzz of electricity instead of feeling it, followed by a shout, he instinctively grabbed his knife from beside him and jumped into an upright position. Maehara fell to the floor in front of him. Isogai instantly felt dread building up inside him, and he resisted the urge to scream in anger, worry and shock. Kataoka began to slip away. Even without fully comprehending what had happened, Isogai knew that Maehara had been stabbed, and that he had to make a choice between helping him and taking Kataoka out. He barely considered his options before dropping to his knees next to Maehara. Kataoka would have to wait.

Maehara must have still been in pain from the electric shock. In fact, Isogai could hear buzzing, and he knew he was still being zapped. Knife wounds hurt for more than an instant, after all. Knife wounds… Isogai’s head hurt. Maehara had been stabbed in the back. His brain was trying to remind him that it was just a game. He told himself that Maehara wasn’t really dying, that he hadn’t really been stabbed, and that there wasn’t really blood pouring out of a hole in his back, but the part of him that didn’t know, the part that was seeing his best friend die before his eyes, was winning. For one of the first times in his life, his brain was being overpowered by his heart.

“Hey, sorry about that, man.” Maehara said. There was pain in his voice. Real pain, not acting. The electricity must have still been going strong. “I wish I could have been there for you until the end, but I guess this was always going to happen. We could never have both won, and if it came down to you against me, I don’t think I could have had the courage to stab you. I’d sooner stab myself.” Isogai was still trying to tell himself that it was a game, but he found himself blinking back tears. He was almost in shock. Maehara had shielded his body with his own.

He tried to say something, but a soft “Maehara…” was all he could manage.

“Hey, do me a favor and win, alright? At least do that for yourself.”

“It won’t be for myself; it will be for both of us. We’re a team.”

“Of course. We always have been, Prince Charming.”

The cannon went off. Maehara didn’t do anything fancy, just closed his eyes and lay still. That was worse. It seemed too real. Isogai couldn’t bear it. Not wanting to let his friend hear him cry over his pretend death, he stood up, gave one last, sad look back, and walked away.

“Maehara has been eliminated.”

\-----

Did Kataoka feel bad for stabbing Maehara like that? Of course. Did she feel guilty about it? Not in the slightest. If she wanted to win this, she had to be harsh. Even if it meant splitting up the two closest friends in the class. 

She only realized the danger she had put herself in after a few minutes of staying on the move. She had made an enemy out of Isogai, as far as the game was concerned. She decided that the forest was no longer safe. Isogai could be anywhere, hiding, waiting for a chance to get his revenge. Thanks to her earlier scouting, she knew exactly where the forest ended and how to get there.

Not long later, she heard a cannon go off. She had heard it so much it was beginning to sound incessant. 

“Nakamura has been eliminated.”

Now there were only three students left. Kataoka herself, Sugino, and Isogai. She didn’t know who had eliminated Nakamura, but she guessed it was Isogai. It made sense. Nakamura sneaks up on him hoping to get a last-minute elimination, he whips around, still angry, and boom, the cannon goes off. Her suspicions were confirmed a minute later when Sugino jumped out at her with a knife. He seemed quite riled up, and Kataoka was reminded that Isogai was not the only one she’d left without a partner.

Sugino had surprised Kataoka, but she still had enough time to sidestep his first attack. She wasn’t expecting much trouble, but she knew she had to be cautious. She generally found that things go wrong when people get overconfident.

After an exchange of slashes, Kataoka managed to hit Sugino in the leg. He shouted out as the electricity shocked him, rendering his entire side almost useless. He fell to the ground, making it easy for her to finish him off with a stab to the chest. As he died, or rather, as he ‘died’, he muttered something to himself. Kataoka decided that if he was anything like Maehara and Isogai, it was probably something about letting Kanzaki down.

The cannon went off yet again, leaving her to wonder who was resetting it. Probably Korosensei.

“Sugino has been eliminated.”

Korosensei, she decided, was almost definitely the cannon master. It was probably his idea in the first place. Her mind quickly refocused to more important matters. With Sugino out of the picture, there was only one person standing between her and victory.

\-----

Isogai knew what Sugino’s cannon meant. The final battle was coming, but he wasn’t sure what to think. He knew he should be glad to get so far, but he couldn’t. It didn’t feel right to be there without Maehara by his side. He tried to push the thought from his mind. If he wanted any chance of beating Kataoka, he couldn’t let himself be distracted.

Now out of the forest, he made his way to the first significant landmark he found: a large, flat slab of rock. He climbed up and looked out around the area for any sign of movement. For a while, nothing happened, and he began to wonder whether Kataoka was hiding, planning, or just setting up somewhere else. That was the problem with such a large area. There were only two of them, which left a lot of empty space. Suddenly, a strange, familiar voice came through the same speaker system Mr. Karasuma had been using to announce the eliminations.

“It seems we are down to our final two.” It was Korosensei. “Because it would be unfair on those still lying on the floor to carry on all night, your suits will emit a brief flash of light that will alert the other of your position, so keep your eyes open. I wish you both the best of luck!” That was Korosensei for you. Always a ‘good luck’ no matter what the situation was or who was involved.

Isogai’s suit suddenly started to light up. It was a sort of orange-yellow glow, a shade he quite liked. He looked around for the same light reflected back. He saw nothing at first, then a faint glow through the trees. Kataoka was still in the forest, but she was moving towards him rapidly. He barely had time to even begin planning before she was there, standing in front of him, knife in hand.

Isogai was expecting her first move to be scaling the rock, and he was right. Soon, they were face-to-face, ready to attack. Isogai didn’t know how to start. Did he go in for the kill straight away, or let her make the first move? He decided to go for the latter option. Kataoka lunged forward and swung. She had excellent reach, and Isogai only just managed to jump out of range. He quickly tried to counter, but she was already a step ahead. After he blocked her next strike, she took a step back.

“Where was that block earlier? It would have saved your friend Maehara, wouldn’t it?” She said, staring straight at him. He felt anger and frustration building up inside him. How could she say that? Isogai knew by now what pure anger felt like, but he still almost scared himself with the speed and motivation behind his next stab. He shouted out as he tried to drive the blade straight into Kataoka’s shoulder, or wherever else he could hit. By now, he was trying to control his emotions; he didn’t want to get to the point where he was crying over a game again.

\-----

Ok, so maybe Kataoka felt a little bad for what she said about Maehara, but it was the only thing she could think of to say. She wanted to destroy Isogai’s rational thinking, make him act rashly. It wasn’t like she could just shout ‘Hey! You’re poor’ and expect it to work. He wasn’t stupid. She had to really hit an emotional nerve, and verbally attacking his best friend seemed to be as good a choice as any.

Unfortunately, her plan didn’t work as well as she intended. Sure, Isogai had a brief fit of rage, but he seemed to be regaining his composure. She realized, however, that calming himself down would be distracting. She took the opportunity to make another attempt at attacking. For a split second, she thought it would work, but at the last moment, Isogai saw the danger he was in and blocked her knife. She repositioned and lashed out again, but with the same degree of success. He was on the defensive, she noticed. At least, that’s how it seemed to her. His only attack so far had been during his brief moment of anger.

Kataoka reassessed the situation. None of her attacks were working. She had to try a different strategy, but what? A gun could work, but if she missed or didn’t shoot him in the right spot, he’d have the opportunity to jump in close. She’d be defenseless. She decided it was too risky, and stuck with her knife. At least then it was an even match. Her best bet was to focus on making her strikes hard to block. If she could hit at awkward angles, they’d be harder to dodge, too.

She went in for another stab as soon as she had decided on a strategy. Isogai was undisputedly the best in the class when it came to knifework, but if she could just hit him… she aimed for his chest. He reached up to block it, but at the last second, she redirected the blade, and the tip drove – if a rubber knife could drive into skin, that is – straight into his right forearm.

\-----

Isogai tried not to scream too loud. In the end, it came out as more of a badly restrained shout. The electric shock was terrible, like he’d actually had a knife driven straight through his arm. Red paint trickled out of his suit as soon as Kataoka retracted the blade. The pain was still there, and it didn’t lessen after the initial shock, but it eventually faded into more of a throb. He fell to his knees, instinctively pressing his arm against his body. The bleeding was more intense now. He figured it wouldn’t be fatal, but his right arm would definitely be out of commission. For a minute, he couldn’t figure out why Kataoka looked so pleased. Then he realized. Her plan had been to take out his dominant hand so he couldn’t block or attack, but there was a small detail she had overlooked. Perhaps she didn’t know in the first place. Isogai decided to play along for now. He had to make her think he couldn’t fight anymore. It wasn’t an ideal move. One misstep and he was done, but it was his only real option, especially with the condition his arm was in.

Clenching his teeth to distract himself from the pain, he stood up. He allowed his injured arm to drop to his side, blood running down it and dripping onto the ground. How could he play this? His knife lay on the floor beside where he had been kneeling, but he couldn’t pick it up. That would make even Terasaka catch on to his strategy, and he wasn’t close enough to grab it without drawing attention anyway. He would have to fight with no weapon and three working limbs.

Kataoka smiled. As far as she knew, all she had to do was land a hit. Isogai watched as she ran straight forward. She was abandoning most of her strategy, but Isogai didn’t. He dodged backwards and shifted his weight to his left foot, ready to jump to the side. Sure enough, she stabbed at his left side, and he jumped right to avoid it.

Isogai’s knife was right by his feet now, but reaching for it would still be too much of a risk. He had to get to the ground. Kataoka came at him with another jab, and he twisted to the side. Excellent. Now the blade was by his left, uninjured side. He wasn’t one for gambling on strategy, but at this point it was the only option left. He waited for Kataoka’s next strike. She swung at him, and at the last second, he pulled his right arm up to meet the blade.

Pain exploded through his arm as the second blow sent a shock up his body. He gritted his teeth as the force of the impact knocked him to the ground. More blood leaked out of his arm, and he knew that he couldn’t let it happen again, but it was the only way he could think of to get to the ground inconspicuously. It had undoubtably worked, but now he had a trained assassin towering over him, waiting to tear into him with all her might. He had to let her think that this was the only possible outcome. He had to buy his time.

Kataoka brought down her knife. Isogai could see the look on her face. She was about to win. When the blade was half a second away from piercing his heart, he grabbed his own knife with his left hand and brought it up to block.

The confusion in Kataoka’s eyes was instant. She was so stunned that Isogai managed to jump up and stagger to his feet, but even through her shock, she could act thoughtfully. She unleashed a flurry of attacks on Isogai, who did everything he could to block. He may have been ambidextrous, a trait that had now saved him enough to name it a ‘second blade’, but he wouldn’t be able to counter her forever. One of them would slip up eventually, and he was already doing everything in his power not to give in to the pain gnawing at his right arm.

The burst continued for a good few minutes. Isogai knew he had to find an opening soon. Even if his stamina, a factor he’d been praised on in the past, held up, his pain was already interrupting his thinking and he was struggling to concentrate on anything. Kataoka showed no signs of slowing down, which didn’t make it any easier to act. Blow after blow came within inches of hitting him. At some point during that time, Isogai felt the tip of the blade against his stomach. If he hadn’t already been backing away from the previous hit, he would have been skewered. Kataoka went in for another strike, and he forced himself to focus. He guessed that the blow would be to his side. If he aimed right, he would be able to block and deflect it, but at the last second, Kataoka redirected the blade. Isogai’s own knife slipped down the side of it, kept going forward, and jabbed her in the chest.

Isogai instinctively jumped back, shocked as Kataoka screamed in pain as the electricity sparked pain that he knew to be accurate. She fell down as the familiar green lights appeared on her suit and began to dim. Isogai took a moment to look at his injured arm. A few of his own lights were extinguished, and were continuing to do so, but something told him the blood loss wouldn’t have been too serious. The same could not be said for Kataoka, who had blood pouring out of her chest as she lay helpless on the floor. Isogai was still in shock, and he felt bad for her. He had hit her out of luck. Her own move had backfired, allowing his knife to slip past. He had been defending, and yet his knife had somehow ended up piercing her chest.

Isogai realized that he must have hit a major vein, or an artery, because the blood didn’t stop coming. The next thing he knew, the cannon went off, and it was over.

“Kataoka has been eliminated.”

\-----

Isogai had won. That’s all anyone in E-Class could talk about as they stood outside, next to the area they’d all just been lying in. they were relieved to hear that it was over, especially those who had been eliminated earlier on. Friends reunited, Terasaka refused to talk to Takabayashi, and Hayami was enjoying being able to breathe again. Chiba hadn’t been allowed to move, so he’d been lying on top of her, silently apologizing. Okajima was complaining that he’d been alone the whole time, and that his legs were cramped. Mostly, students were checking on others, and making sure no one held a grudge against them for an elimination.

Almost before he saw him, Isogai was attacked by Maehara as he gave him the biggest, friendliest hug he’d ever experienced. When he stepped back, he gently slapped him on the back.

“I knew you could do it! I heard the announcement for the final battle, and then a couple of shouts, then the cannon went off and Mr. Karasuma announced Kataoka’s elimination.” He said.

“I’m just glad you’re alright. I did this for both of us. We’re a team, remember?” Isogai said, which was true. Mr. Karasuma had turned off the electricity in their suits, but his arm was still more than a little sore, and he could feel a bruise where the knife had hit him, even if it was made of rubber.

While Karma tormented Nagisa and Chiba apologized for the hundredth time to Hayami, insisting that he wasn’t offended at being called heavy, Korosensei stood up in front of them.

“Class, I just want you to know how proud I am of every single one of you. Even if you didn’t win, remember that in every game, there is a first one out, those who get lost in the middle, and runners-up who look back and wish they could have gone that extra bit further. There will be other ways and more opportunities to prove your skills, and other ways to stand out. You all did great today. I couldn’t ask for a better class, or a better group of assassins.”

**Author's Note:**

> I hope the descriptions of injuries and how fast it took for the students to 'die' in each instance were accurate. I did some research for some scenes, such as Maehara's elimination, so hopefully it didn't take anything away from the story.
> 
> I'm willing to write requests, so if you have an idea that would suit my writing style, I'm listening... I need ideas.


End file.
